Alliance members are working to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping temperature increases below 1.5 degrees Celsius by reducing emissions, accelerating action, centering equity, and tracking progress.

Explore Connecticut's policies and actions across the Alliance's 10 key policy areas. Numbers presented below only reflect the number of policies in this database and thus may not reflect all climate policies pursued.

connecticut

GHG Targets + Governance

Just Transition + Equity

Industry

Pricing Carbon + Valuing Damages

Electricity

Transportation

Resilience

Natural + Working Lands

Climate Finance

Buildings

total

HB 5004: 2024 Connecticut Climate Protection Act

HB 5004 is a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill that:
- Establishes new and ambitious economy-wide emissions reductions targets of 45 percent from 2001 levels by 2030, 65 percent from 2001 levels by 2040, and net-zero by 2050; and further establishes that state agencies shall reach zero-carbon electricity by 2030. 
- Mandates DEEP to annually publish GHG emissions inventory and triennial publication of a progress report toward the state’s economy-wide GHG emissions reduction targets from January 1, 2026 onward. 
- Establishes a Clean Economy Council to advise on economic development strategies and policies that strengthen the state's climate mitigation, clean energy, resilience, and sustainability programs, particularly for vulnerable communities. 
     - Coordinates federal and state funding opportunities and statewide workforce development. 
     - Must submit a fossil fuel workforce transition plan by July 1, 2026 and biennial reports to the Governor and legislature beginning February 15, 2026. 
- Allows agencies to use the social cost of greenhouse gases in cost-benefit analyses, and mandates that guidelines for use be developed and published by January 1, 2026. 
- Directs DEEP to develop a statewide heat pump plan by January 1, 2027, focused on deploying affordable, resilient heat pumps especially for environmental justice communities, low-income households, and Medicaid-supported long-term care facilities. 
- Mandates PURA to develop a solar canopy strategic plan by January 15, 2027, identifying high-priority solar canopy sites, especially in environmental justice communities. 
     - Requires DAS to integrate climate considerations (building decarbonization and climate-resilient infrastructure planning) into all state facility decisions by January 1, 2026, and to submit a plan and budget to convert fossil-fuel-based HVAC in state buildings to zero-carbon systems by July 1, 2027 
- Mandates DAS to promote greener purchasing by local governments by publishing voluntary guidelines for municipal green procurement and identify relevant state contracts by January 1, 2026 

2020, 2030, 2040, 2050 Statewide GHG Targets

ghg_targets

Public Act No. 23-207: An Act Establishing a Tax Abatement for Certain Conservation Easements and Addressing Housing Affordability for Residents in the State

Statutorily establishes the Office of Responsible Growth within OPM and assigns it various responsibilities.

The Office of Responsible Growth is established by C.G.S. Section 4-66dd as a successor to Executive Order #15 to coordinate state planning efforts around land and water resources and infrastructure improvements to support the creation of livable, diverse, and economically strong communities while protecting our natural, economic, social, and cultural resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

Amongst its programs and responsibilities, the Office prepares the Connecticut Conservation and Development Policies Plan and administers the Responsible Growth and Transit-Oriented Development grant program.

Office of Responsible Growth

climate_governance

Public Act 25-1 - An Act Concerning Housing Growth

Public Act 25-1 includes several provisions to support more location-efficient and transit-oriented development in Connecticut. Among other things, the Act:

- Allows municipalities to establish transit-oriented zoning districts in their communities. These districts must be located near certain transit stations and allow for more dense residential development typologies, mixed-use development, and commercial-to-residential conversions. Developments with 10 or more units must deed restrict a certain percentage of units for 40 years after initial occupancy so they are affordable for renters or buyers earning no more than 60% of the area median income. Certain property owners in transit-oriented districts are also allowed as-of-right to build an accessory dwelling unit on their property. 
- Establishes a state-level Council on Housing Development to, among other things, create guidelines for municipalities in establishing transit-oriented districts.
- Requires certain municipalities to allow middle housing developments and mixed-use developments, subject only to a summary
review, on any parcel that is zoned for commercial or mixed-use development. Permits certain municipalities to allow middle housing developments, subject only to a summary review, on any parcel that allows for residential use. 
- Establishes a Housing Growth Program to provide grants-in-aid to assist municipalities in paying costs related to the construction, improvement or expansion of public infrastructure, including, but not limited to, water lines, sewer lines, roads, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and transit infrastructure associated with the development of new dwelling units.
- Prohibits municipalities from enforcing off-street parking minimums for proposed residential developments with 16 or fewer units. Municipalities must allow developers proposing a development of at least 17 units to rebut parking schedule minimums through a parking needs assessment process.
- Establishes a Middle Housing Development Grant program to support local housing authorities in expanding middle housing availability in municipalities with a population up to 50,000.

Public Act No. 21-43: An Act Concerning a Just Transition to Climate-Protective Energy Production and Community Investment

This law requires that the developer of a covered project shall take all reasonable actions to ensure that a community benefits agreement is entered into with appropriate community organizations representing residents of 
the community in which the project is or will be located if the nameplate capacity of the project is five megawatts or more, and take appropriate actions to ensure a workforce development program is established, including a prevailing wage. 

Substitute for SB 9: An Act Concerning the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Municipal and State Planning, and the Use of Neonicotinoids and Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides

Connecticut Public Act 25-33 integrates climate risk into municipal planning while creating new tools to mobilize capital for adaptation. The law requires municipalities to conduct climate vulnerability assessments by October 2027, and incorporate climate risks into their conservation and development plans, effectively generating prioritized pipelines of investable resilience projects. It also mandates flood insurance disclosure in real estate transactions starting July 2026, increasing transparency of climate risk in housing and mortgage markets and influencing insurance pricing, lending decisions, and property values. Together, these measures function as “pre-financing infrastructure,” reducing uncertainty and strengthening the conditions for public and private investment in climate adaptation.

The act’s primary financing mechanism is the establishment of resiliency improvement districts, which allow municipalities to fund adaptation infrastructure using tax increment financing (TIF). By capturing future increases in property tax revenue to repay current investments, these districts convert long-term fiscal benefits into upfront capital for resilience projects, improving their financial viability. Complementary environmental regulations—such as restrictions on neonicotinoid pesticides and rodenticides—support the protection of natural capital that underpins long-term resilience and reduces systemic risk. Overall, the law builds a decentralized municipal climate finance architecture that links risk disclosure, planning, and place-based financing to sustain local adaptation investment and fiscal stability.